The present invention relates to valves, and, more particularly, to an improved valve system that permits relatively easy assembly, disassembly and reassembly of the valve.
A variety of valve designs and configurations are available for use for material handling requirements, particularly for industrial applications. Numerous design criteria and operational parameters are required for the valves in such industrial applications.
Such industrial disc valves can be used for food, pharmaceutical, nuclear or toxic chemical applications. As such, the valve must be compatible with a wide variety of materials, some of which may be sticky, gummy, abrasive, granular, pelletized, and/or possess other troublesome characteristics. Handling of such materials through the valve over time typically results in fouling, jamming, leakage or other problems, which in turn results in poor valve performance. Importantly, the valve must be reliable to provide smooth and efficient operation without damage to the material flowing there through when in an open or partially opened configuration.
One type of valve currently available for industrial use is referred to as a disc valve in which a movable valve member, typically in the shape of a disc, is pivotally mounted within the bore or opening in a valve body. In a fully closed configuration, the disc is in sealing contact with a peripheral portion of the bore formed in the valve body to prevent the flow of material through the valve, and in a partial or fully open configuration, the valve disc is pivoted to permit the partial or full flow of material through the valve. An actuator, which may be pneumatic, manual or otherwise, is coupled to the shaft on which the disc valve member pivots for opening and closing of the valve.
Due to the nature of many of the materials being handled by industrial disc valves, such as sticky, gummy, abrasive or similarly characterized materials, periodic cleaning of the valve is required. Such periodic maintenance generally requires removal, disassembly, and cleaning of the valve, and any other sanitization. Optimally, the downtime of the system in which the valve is utilized should be minimized to avoid an excessive and detrimental economic impact to the industrial or other production cycle and maintenance manpower costs.
In many instances, industrial disc valves utilized in food, pharmaceutical, nuclear or toxic chemical environments are operated in highly restrictive, clean room, limited access or other specialized environments. As such, operators that service such systems must wear protective clothing, uniforms, gloves, goggles and other equipment to avoid contamination of the processed materials and/or potential injury and harm to themselves. Such protective clothing, particularly gloves, render it very difficult and cumbersome to easily, efficiently and quickly assemble and disassemble industrial equipment such as a disc valve. Moreover, the improved operational performance and efficiency of the disc valve is the purpose for the maintenance in many instances in the first place, and must not be compromised upon reassembly of the components. For example, accurate positioning of the components of the disc valve relative to one another, and associated clearances or tolerances must be maintained, for optimal operation as previously described. Under such conditions, the precise reassembly of known disc valves after cleaning is difficult, as the accurate and precise manipulation of the needed tools and valve components is required.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved disc valve for industrial applications which can be easily and conveniently disassembled and reassembled, preferably without the use of hand tools even by an operator wearing protective clothing and gloves while still maintaining exacting operational parameters of the valve after that disassembly and reassembly.